


The You, Two Thousand Years From Now

by fracturedmoonlight



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: A different kind of pining, AU, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst, Eren is the weird kid who rants about reincarnation, Levi works in a Waffle House, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 22:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3305879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fracturedmoonlight/pseuds/fracturedmoonlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren has been ostracized his whole life because of his bad habit of ranting about his past life. He decides to turn over a new leaf once he gets to college, leaving behind his theories of reincarnation so that he can maybe make some actual friends and be a functioning member of society.</p><p>It was a great plan until he found Levi again--in a Waffle House, of all places.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The You, Two Thousand Years From Now

**Author's Note:**

> (runs away from everyone who is expecting an update from me for "Shut Up and Dance")  
> I'm sorry! It's coming sometime this week/next weekend.  
> For now, please enjoy this oneshot that somehow snowballed to 10,000+ words?! I was thinking about how Eren would turn out if he DID remember the past, but also about what Isayama said in that one interview; that in a world without titans, everyone would kind of just be lazy and enjoy the peace. Hence, the personality changes in both Eren and Levi; they retain some similarities to their past selves, but they're also modern dorks. This is just my take on what could be one possibility.  
> There are more notes at the end; for now, please read and comment if you liked it/hated it/want to tell me what your favorite kind of waffle is (writing this made me hungry, ugh).

Honestly, he had decided to just give up.

In fact, he had made the decision just the day before. It was his first day of college, a chance for a brand new start—a chance to not be _that guy_ in high school, the weird kid who spouted nonsense about things like _reincarnation_ and _man-eating giants_ and _3D maneuver gear_ (it was _way cooler_ than cars, why did no one else think it was _way cooler than cars_?!).

It was a chance to not be such a pitiful loner.

He wasn’t even _that_ _bad looking_ , and he had _normal interests_ , too—things like soccer, comic books, war movies, and $3 burgers.

Nevertheless, he did make the decision to move to the other end of the country in hopes of escaping his reputation as a nutcase. His parents had worried about whether or not he would be okay, but he had assured them that there were plenty of therapists in California, too—maybe less than in New York because they have better weather on the West Coast (and Seasonal Affective Disorder is DEFINITELY a thing), but the state itself is bigger, so…

So there he was, sitting in a Waffle House the morning of his first day of university. His roommate hadn’t come back to the dorm room the night before, which would have been a little concerning if Eren actually liked him, but the guy seemed like a privileged d-bag, so he had decided not to care. Eren didn’t even have his number; they weren’t even Facebook friends, for Pete’s sake. Eren figured he would save the real attempts at genuine friendship for his first class, which started at 3 P.M.

This meant he had plenty of time to stuff his face with delicious, delicious waffles (this place was listed in the welcome week guide as having the best breakfast food in the entire college town—not as much of an accolade as it could have been, thanks to the teeny size of Trost, but nothing to scoff at, either).

He was poring over the menu, trying to decide between the Blueberry Blast Waffle and the Cinnamon Swirl Waffle, when it happened.

“Welcome to Willy’s Waffles, home of the world’s best waffles,” drawled a decidedly bored voice.

Eren’s heart nearly stopped.

He looked up very, _very_ slowly.

He must have been making a stupid face, because the waiter very gravely told him, “You’re making a stupid face.”

Eren felt his jaw drop.

“Why are you making such a stupid face.” It wasn’t even a question.

The man he remembered as the stony-faced captain of the Survey Corps, his direct superior and the man tasked with making sure he didn’t go berserk on the battlefield, _Humanity’s fucking Strongest_ , was staring back at him—

—in a red and white striped button down, a black apron, and a Willy’s Waffles cap, no less.

“ _Levi_?” He finally managed.

Levi looked back at him, facial expression unchanged.

“That is my name,” he replied, very helpfully indicating the handwritten tag clipped to the right side of his well-pressed apron.

“Oh my _God_. What are you doing here?!” Eren said, sure that his voice was at least an octave and a half higher than usual.

This time, Levi’s face did change; the middle of his forehead scrunched together ever so slightly.

“I work here. What, did we go to high school together or something?”

 _No, we just fought titans together in a war for humanity’s posterity and I think you might have died in my arms, but I’m not quite sure, since some parts are a little hazy, but you know how reincarnation is_ —

“Wait…you don’t remember me?” Eren asked, trying not to sound indignant, but how could he not? Who forgets someone they fought alongside in a past life?

(D-bags, that’s who.)

“Well _excuse me_ for not remembering every jerk I went to high school with,” Levi grit out, lip curled into a sneer.

“I didn’t go to high school with you!”

“Then what—” Levi started to say something, perhaps letting curiosity get the better of him, but he abruptly stopped himself and shook his head. “You know what, I don’t care. The special of the day is the Vanilla Maple Waffle, topped with homemade maple whipped cream. What would you like to order today, _sir_?”

Eren was pretty sure he was making another “stupid face,” but it was only because he was _so pissed off that he was seeing red_.

“If you need a few more minutes, I can come back—”

“You bet your _ass_ I need a few more minutes!” Eren growled.

Levi just shrugged.

“Okay,” he said, and turned on his heel.

Eren went back to gaping, watching Levi’s shined shoes click and clack all the way across the checkered floor of Willy’s Waffles to the other side of the restaurant.

“ _Son of a_ —”

\- - -

He ended up ordering from a different waiter, who, when asked, told him that Levi had gone “on a break, got an important call or something.”

The waffle had been pretty damn good, but the taste was laced with the bitterness of knowing that there was no way he could give up his “weird reincarnation rants” now—now that he _totally completely was certain_ that it was real.

It was like his whole life was suddenly validated! All of his high school insecurities melted away, just like that (well, most of them; he still felt self-conscious about his hair sometimes).

He was pretty well-adjusted, considering the fact that now his reincarnation obsession was justified. He had gotten into one of the most prestigious universities in the country for philosophy, he made the soccer team, and he was pretty okay looking (minus the constant bed hair)!

All he needed to do was make Levi remember. Then, they could travel the world and get the whole gang back together. It couldn’t be that difficult; there’s no way Captain Levi ACTUALLY forgot, after all. He had been the best at killing titans! He’d also lived to the ripe old age of—actually, Eren had no idea how old Levi had been when he died. He’d always looked quite young, but he thought he heard Hanji say he was in his thirties once, so maybe he’d been in his forties. That was pretty damn old for the Survey Corps, since most soldiers only lived to their late twenties before becoming titan food.

…But none of that mattered now! Levi looked _good_. He may even be an inch or two taller this time around! 5’5” was certainly a commendable height. Sure, he looked as constantly irritated as usual, but maybe he’d had a good life so far and that was just his face. He looked less tired, and definitely had less wrinkles around his eyes. Hell, he may even be Eren’s age this time!

The first step was to befriend Levi. That couldn’t be too hard, Eren figured. They had been friends back then, too—friends with the very enjoyable benefit of sex.

Eren snapped close the textbook he had very obviously not been reading because he had been too preoccupied with his thoughts of Levi. It was okay, though; he’d read all about these philosophers before, during high school, because he hadn’t really had any friends thanks to his constant jabbering and “eerie aura,” as some of his classmates had pointed out on more than one occasion.

He grinned, resting his cheek on a first and staring longingly out the window at a courtyard below, and took a moment to sigh wistfully at his remarkable luck.

\- - -

“Hello, welcome to—oh, great, it’s you again.” Levi looked up from the small spiral notebook he was holding only to be faced with a beaming Eren.

“Hi!”

“Hi. Our special today is the same as it was yesterday. Which is when you were here last. You must really like waffles,” Levi said flatly.

“I’m Eren. Eren Jaeger,” said Eren.

“I’m still Levi,” Levi replied, tapping his pen twice against his plastic name tag.

“I know,” Eren declared with a smug smile.

Levi looked entirely put upon, like Eren’s mere presence was a test from some higher deity.

“Ooookay then. So, what will you be having?”

“What would you say if I told you I _did_ know you?” Eren blurted out, completely disregarding Levi’s question and, instead, staring at him with anticipation.

Levi blinked. “Uh, sorry for not recognizing you?”

“Oh, it’s okay,” Eren said, waving a hand to and fro because he knew that already, obviously. “And what if I told you I knew you in a past life?”

Levi opened his mouth a bit, then closed it. Then, a crestfallen expression fell upon his face. Finally, he sighed.

“Just what I needed this week, hooooly shit. Okay. Okay,” he said, bringing a palm up to his face and dragging it downwards as he attempted to collect himself.

“Okay. I’m going to try this one more time. What do you want to order?”

“I’m just asking because—”

“Aaaand goodbye,” Levi said, tucking his notepad into a pocket of his apron and high-tailing it far, far away from Eren’s booth.

Eren frowned. That hadn’t gone exactly how he had wanted it to go.

The same waiter who had taken over for Levi the previous day took over, eyeing Eren suspiciously the entire time.

Eren ended up ordering a Citrus Cardamom Waffle, which was a weird combination he definitely would not recommend to any of his friends, if he had any.

While he ate, he watched Levi as he worked. He was pretty sure Levi had forgotten about him (or, at least, was trying to), because he didn’t look his way even once. Instead, he attended to his customers with precision and a practiced politeness, despite any dramatic changes in his expression. Eren even watched him calmly pacify a customer who was angry about how few strawberries were in his Strawberry Banana Waffle.

After he finished eating, Eren paid and stepped outside. He had finished his classes by 10 A.M., so he decided he would just wait around to talk to Levi outside of his workplace. Maybe the reason he was getting so angry was because he could get in trouble with his bosses. If Eren had chosen to shoot the breeze with Mikasa or Armin instead of clean under Levi’s watchful eye back then, Levi definitely would’ve gotten angry. That must be it; Levi must just be worried about being fired.

He read a book while he waited, leaning against the side of the red brick Waffle House; it was some dystopian novel that wasn’t really all that good, but Eren empathized with the characters and desperately was hoping that the book had a happy ending. He didn’t want to stop reading it just because he didn’t like the reading without making sure that all (or most) of his favorite characters ended up in one piece at the end.

An hour passed, and a little after 2 P.M., Eren looked up just in time to see Levi step out of the building without his apron and cap, and with his striped shirt rolled up to the elbows. He was carrying a messenger bag over one shoulder.

“Levi!” Eren said, pushing himself off the wall. He made his way toward the other man.

Levi’s head whipped around at the sound of his name, and Eren saw his face twist into a familiar expression of fury—familiar because Eren was pretty sure he wore it a good 55% of the time in his younger days. In his defense, there _had_ been a ton of shit to be angry about back then.

“What the actual _fuck_ , are you a stalker? I swear to God, I will call the police if you don’t back the fuck off.” He snarled, taking a few steps away from Eren.

“Hey, no, wait, I just want to talk to you! Just give me a minute, _please_.” Eren asked, clasping his hands together.

Levi gave him a disgusted look, then sighed. “One minute, moron. Go.”

Eren straightened as Levi crossed his arms. “Okay, where do I start. So, I’ve been having these dreams since I was really little, since I can remember, about this place where everyone—okay, that is going to take way too long to explain in detail. Basically, you and I were, er, _friends_ in the past. In the world I remember from my dreams.”

“Oh? Prove it.” Levi said drily, raising an eyebrow.

“I knew your name was Levi! I knew what you looked like before I saw you! Your voice is the same as it was back then, too.” Eren said, grasping at straws.

“One, I was wearing a name tag, dumbass. Two, there’s no way to prove that. Three, there’s no way to prove _that_ , either.”

“Ugh, okay, what else—you were really stringent about cleaning. A total neat freak. And you hold mugs from the top, instead of the handle—“

“Wait,” Levi said, blinking. “How did you—“

Sensing Levi’s disbelief, Eren pressed forward. “And you prefer tea over coffee, and you make a lot of shit jokes—like, literally, toilet humor—“

Suddenly, Eren felt his whole body pulled forward. In a heartbeat, he was eye to eye with Levi, whose hand was fisted in the front of his T-shirt.

The man stared back at him with a lethal glint in his eye from only inches apart.

“How long have you been stalking me, you shitty brat?”

“I _haven’t_ , I just _got_ here, I know because we’re both reincarnations of a—hey!”

Levi tossed him to the ground like he was so much dead weight, and gave him a withering look. “I don’t know who put you up to this shit, but you can tell them to _fuck right off_ , and then you can stay as far away from me as you possibly can, or else I will make you wish you had the ability to crawl right back up your mother’s womb. In other words, you will wish you were never born. Got it? Have a nice day.” Levi proceeded to turn on his heel and stalk away, leaving Eren gaping after him.

Instead of making a move to get up, Eren flopped down in the dust, arms spread wide. Staring up at the clear sky, he wondered how the hell he was going to make this one work.

It seemed like it’d take a little more than just gumption to get to him, after all.

\- - -

It turned out, however, that Eren had not needed a plan.

Sitting a few rows above him in his 4 P.M. creative writing class the next day (his advisor had forced him to take an elective, and it seemed better than taking something math-related) was none other than Levi.

Unfortunately, Eren was dreading the moment Levi realized they were in the same class. Levi had already been seated when Eren walked in, and the class had been so full at that point that it wasn’t surprising he hadn’t noticed yet.

Eren anxiously bounced his knee up and down until a girl seated to his left sent an absolutely scathing look his way.

The professor walked in, a bubbly red-haired woman who looked to be in her forties. She introduced herself as Professor Clark, then went on to take roll.

“Ackerman?” She called first, glancing up above both the paper and her boxy black glasses frames.

“Here.” Eren saw Levi lift his hand slightly from his own position in the back row. The professor smiled and went on.

Contrary to his belief, though, Levi did not seem to have much of a reaction when the professor called “Jaeger?” and proceeded to ask about the uncommon spelling of his first name.

“ _Eren_. Huh, how lovely,” she repeated amiably.

The rest of the class was uneventful; the professor went over the syllabus, asked them about their favorite fictional works and what made them so captivating, and then sent them on their way with a hefty homework assignment due the next week.

By the end, Eren was convinced that Levi had simply forgotten his name.

However, that turned out not to be the case when he was thrown against the brick of the English building the second he made it outside.

“What the _shit_. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t be calling the cops on your ass, _Eren Jaeger_.”

“Can’t…breathe…” Eren squeaked, clawing at the hands Levi had on his neck.

Levi let him go, and Eren stumbled back, but remained standing.

“I didn’t know, I swear!” Eren pleaded hoarsely, his infatuation with this world’s Levi diminishing by the second.

“How did you know all that stuff about me?”

Eren blinked. He was expecting to get beat up, harassed—any number of things but a hesitant and (dare he say it) _cautious_ Levi, who looked more like he had just discovered Eren was a wizard.

“Are you psychic?” Levi asked, with quiet severity.

Eren resisted the urge not to laugh by biting his tongue and reminding himself of the lovely bruises he had received the day before.

“If I were psychic I would have known you were going to jump me outside of class,” Eren pointed out, wiping some dirt off of his jeans.

Levi made a noise of agreement, but kept staring him down, expecting answers.

Eren sighed. “I already told you, it’s complicated. I know that stuff because I knew the _past_ you. Who liked me considerably more than the current you, might I add,” Eren said, eyeing Levi with indignation. That last part wasn’t completely true, and he knew it; Levi hadn’t been a huge fan of Eren’s at the beginning, but the current Levi didn’t know that.

Or maybe he did; who knew?!

“ _Past_ me,” Levi said slowly, “what is that supposed to mean?”

“It _means_ that I have memories of my past life, and you were in it,” Eren said, feeling like a broken record. “But you clearly think I’m crazy, and maybe I am, but—”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Levi sighed, shaking his head.

Eren looked up, waiting.

“Alright. You’ve got one shot to tell me what you know and why I should care.”

\- - -

They ended up at the Waffle House, of all places. Eren was confused why a Waffle House was even open at 6 P.M., but he guessed enough people were devoted enough to waffles to warrant the extensive hours.

“I get a discount,” Levi explained as Eren looked over a menu.

“What’s your favorite waffle?” Eren asked, not looking up.

“The Birthday Cake Waffle.” Levi replied immediately.

This time, Eren did look up. Levi shrugged.

“The menu says that has 2,973 calories,” Eren said with a small frown.

Levi just shrugged again.

When the waiter came by (the same one who had served Eren the past two days, and was probably thinking _he_ was the one being stalked at this point), Eren just ordered a coffee. Levi ordered his heart attack on a plate, and the waiter looked thoroughly confused, though Eren wasn’t sure if it was because Levi and Eren were suddenly on good enough terms to be eating waffles together, or because Eren had become a frequent customer so quickly.

“So.” Levi said, folding his napkin in half flawlessly, and patting it down to remove creases, “tell me all about what is going on inside of your fucked up brain.”

“Are you a psychology major?” Eren asked.

“I’m a business major.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to own a business one day.”

“What kind of business?”

“This isn’t about me!” Levi huffed, glaring across the table.

“Well, it _sort of_ is,” Eren said in his defense.

Levi just looked at him, then raised an eyebrow, as if prompting him to continue.

“ _Okay_. So, ever since I can remember, I’ve had these _really realistic_ dreams. At first, I didn’t tell anyone, because I thought everyone had them. But when I was in elementary school I started drawing them and talking about them and stuff,” Eren said, pausing to thank the waiter, who had returned with his coffee.

“Obviously, my teacher thought I was, like, being abused or something, but my parents are the nicest people on Earth and real upstanding citizens, so that was ruled out quickly. Next, they thought I was insane, so they brought me to a therapist.”

“How old were you?” Levi interjected, frowning.

“Ah, I think about nine,” Eren said. “Anyway, they tried putting me on meds for a while, but it didn’t stop the dreams or anything, they just made me really tired and zombielike. So my parents took me _off_ the meds and decided that maybe I was a genius or something. Like, maybe this was how famous moviemakers start out. They thought I’d write the next Great American Novel or something, because I was a creative powerhouse or something.”

Eren paused, avoiding Levi’s hard gaze. “But the thing is, I didn’t _ask for this_. I didn’t _want_ to remember. I was really angry about it for a while. The things I remember—the world I was in was overrun by man-eating giants. We called them titans. And I lost both my parents, and a great deal of my friends. So many innocent people died, and—”

Eren stopped, realizing his hand was shaking. He shook his head, turning back to Levi. “Sorry. Basically, it was awful. I was a soldier, but I was different than the others, so it was…hard.”

Unsurprisingly, he found it exceedingly difficult to put into words what had happened to him back then.

“So there I was, this adult who had seen some really fucked up things, _done_ some really fucked up things, all trapped in this tiny body in this beautiful world. It was hard to reconcile—and it still is. Especially now that there’s you.” Eren said, looking at Levi seriously.

Levi just furrowed his brows, appearing to be deep in thought.

“Where do I come in?” Levi asked, seemingly contemplating Eren’s words.

“You were older than me, then.” Eren said. “You’re a freshman now too, though, right?”

“No. I’m a sophomore. But I’m still eighteen.”

“I see,” Eren said, and he’d be surprised if this whole thing had been less overwhelming. “Anyway, you were the most famous soldier—they called you Humanity’s Strongest. You could take down a titan without breaking a sweat.”

“Sounds like a lot of pressure.” Levi remarked, and Eren frowned.

“Yeah. I think it probably got to you. But you didn’t really talk about it. You weren’t exactly forthcoming with your emotions…I think you tried to stay strong for all of us.”

“You _think_ —so you didn’t know me that well, after all?”

“That’s not true! I knew you better than anyone!” Eren insisted, leaning across the table. Levi looked momentarily taken aback, before retreating back behind his neutral gaze.

Realizing that he had said that rather loudly, Eren shifted back into the booth. “I—we were really close, especially at the end. You saved me a lot.”

“How close is _really close_ , Eren.”

It was Eren’s turn to be taken aback.

“You wouldn’t be so adamant about this unless—”

Eren turned bright red, and Levi stopped short.

“Ha. I knew it,” Levi said, raising an eyebrow. He leaned his head back slightly, seemingly satisfied with his skills of deduction.

“Next time, I suggest using a real pick-up line instead of a long-winded story about reincarnation,” Levi said sagely, and Eren felt the tips of his ears burn in response.

“It _wasn’t_ , I just—”

The waiter set a sprinkle-filled waffle with a dollop of frosting on top in front of Levi, mumbling an “enjoy, bro,” and clapping Levi on the shoulder before shuffling off.

“It’s one of the only _nice_ parts of the story,” Eren said quietly, clutching his jeans and looking down at the table. “My friends, our perseverance, how much I lo—liked spending time with you, it all makes it easier to bear,” Eren said, faltering over his words.

Levi looked up from gazing at his waffle in complete adoration.

“So, what are you going to do?” Levi asked.

Eren blinked.

“I, uh. Huh?” He didn’t understand Levi’s question.

“You found me. What are you planning to do now?”

Eren’s mouth ran dry. “I mean, I haven’t really—”

“What’s your end goal here?”

Eren suddenly felt like he was in an interview.

Levi had an incredible poker face, but Eren had already known that. He could count the number of times he remembered seeing it break in his dreams on one hand. Levi was simultaneously able to question Eren’s motives very seriously while stuffing huge pieces of precisely cut waffle into his mouth.

The whole thing was quite surreal.

Maybe, just maybe, Eren was still alive in that other world, the one he saw bits and pieces of while he slept. Maybe he was going to wake up from a delirious sleep induced by one of Hanji’s experiments at any moment.

“Do you want to date me?”

Eren gaped; Levi carefully set down his knife and fork before resting his face on his right arm and cocking his head to one side.

“This whole thing sounds like a gay Disney movie, to be honest.” Levi said frankly. Then he closed his eyes and shrugged slightly. “But you _are_ my type. I think you have potential.”

“This is not very romantic.” Eren bit out after staring open-mouthed for a few seconds. “You make this sound like a business deal.”

“That’s my specialty. Was my past self particularly suave?” Levi asked, and Eren was unsure if he was being sarcastic or if he was genuinely curious.

“Well…no. Not at all.” He said, scrunching his eyebrows together, and Levi just gave him a look that said “well, there you go then.”

“We can just be friends,” Eren said, suddenly feeling like this was moving kind of fast.

“But you would rather be more than that.” Levi pointed out frankly.

“But you don’t know me at all!” Eren protested.

“Well, you apparently know me, so we’re fifty percent of the way to a functioning relationship. Or, in the modern world, about 85% of the way there, I suppose.”

“I,” Eren began, face flushed. He felt a headache coming on.

“I…are you sure?” Eren asked, disbelievingly.

Levi just shrugged, “I don’t really mind.”

\- - -

“Eren. You didn’t have your hand up when I asked how many of you liked the short story.” Professor Clark threw him a wry smile, and half the class shifted to turn and look at Eren.

Eren’s face flushed red and he stopped what he was doing, which was absentmindedly writing in his notebook. “Uh, yeah. I wasn’t a huge fan.”

“Why not?” Professor Clark asked, leaning back on her desk and crossing her arms.

“I, uh…to be honest, I thought it was a bit contrived,” Eren said, scratching his head and looking at his professor, instead of his judgmental classmates (most of whom had apparently really liked the book, seeing as their hands had shot up with enthusiasm). “I like the idea of the main character’s best friends getting together after such a, erm, a disaster, I guess, but the author implies they fell in love within a span of a couple of weeks. I don’t know, seems like they won’t stay together.”

Murmurs of dissent spread like a wildfire across the room.

“Did the author imply that this was a lasting love?” Professor Clark asked.

Eren shrugged. “There’s no way to tell. I guess I just read it as having this happy ending after all the grief, like it was the perfect way to just forget about both of their problems. The dead best friend’s girlfriend finds a new boyfriend; the best friend finds a new best friend. It’s wrapped up too neatly. Real life doesn’t work like that.”

“So you want a sequel where they break up? They get a divorce and their kids are on drugs and one of them has cancer, maybe? No, this is good.” Professor Clark said, settling the class down as they began to protest and send snarky comments Eren’s way. Eren was scowling deeply, not fond of being made fun of.

“This is great, because today I want to talk about endings. How do we end a story? It’s the last thing the reader will be left with, so it needs to be poignant. But, like Eren said, sometimes happy endings leave us unfulfilled. And sometimes there is a point where too much tragedy is—well, too much. So where does that leave us as authors? We have a difficult choice to make as authors, right?”

\- - -

“You got totally owned in lecture,” Levi said with a smirk as they walked across the quad.

Eren’s mouth twisted into a grimace. “I’m entitled to my opinion.”

“It’s okay. Happy endings would piss me off, too, if I were you.”

“They don’t piss you off?” Eren asked, ignoring the way Levi implied that he had no part in Eren’s reincarnation tale.

“Nope. I liked the story. Then again, I’ve always been a bit of a romantic. Longing gazes across crowded rooms, hands touching under tables, boys who firmly believe they loved you in a past life—you know, the usual bullshit.”

“Funny,” Eren replied drily.

They made small talk about classes until Levi said that his apartment was the other direction, and he didn’t want to “wait a fucking hour for the bus,” so they parted ways.

Eren forgave Levi for the teasing session when he reached up to ruffle his hair before walking off.

\- - -

Tired of reading about early twentieth century philosophers (they were his favorite, which meant this was anything but new material), Eren worked up the courage to finally text Levi. They _were_ boyfriends, after all. Wasn’t this something they were supposed to do all the time?

 **Hey** , he sent, then promptly turned his phone over so he didn’t have to see the response right away. His phone buzzed a minute later, and he worked up his courage all over again just to check it.

 **Hey** , Levi had written back. Eren couldn’t help the smile that made its way onto his face. No doubt Levi was making fun of his rather intelligent greeting.

 **Are you free Saturday?** Eren wrote and rewrote the text about ten times before deciding to just sound sure of himself and not beat around the bush. He was sure Levi would appreciate that more than using the actual term “date.”

 **I’m never free on Saturdays.** Eren’s phone flashed two minutes later, and he capped his highlighter to grab it.

 **Why not?** He typed back.

**I work.**

**I meant at night** , Eren clarified. **Like 6pm??**

 **I started an Open Mic Night at the Waffle House last year** , Levi explained. **I play every Saturday.**

Eren stared at his phone for a good minute, too surprised to respond immediately.

**You perform???**

**Yeah** , Levi simply wrote.

Eren felt his eyebrows raise. He thought for a moment, then set out to reply.

 **Well how about I just come to that?** He asked. **And we can hang out after?**

He bit his lip as he waited for Levi to reply. A moment later, he felt relief flood through his chest.

**If you want.**

\- - -

As it turned out, the Open Mic Night was a pretty happening place on a Saturday night. There was a huge crowd already by 7:26 P.M., and the show didn’t even technically start until 8.

Eren ended up sitting in a booth at the back of the main dining room, not knowing anyone else in the room and feeling a little bit uncomfortable because of it. He thought he recognized a few faces from his philosophy lecture, but he was still pretty bad at going up to random people and introducing himself (from the lack of practice, no doubt), so he just stayed where he was and played around on his phone.

He ended up sitting there rereading Levi’s texts over and over.

**Come early or you won’t get a spot. I won’t be able to see you beforehand, but I’ll find you after.**

**Don’t buy any drugs or do anything stupid.**

Eren snickered as he read the most recent text, which had been sent under an hour ago.

Finally, the clock on his phone read 8 P.M. He glanced up just in time to see the lights dim. The crowd began to cheer and bounce around in anticipation. He stood up and suddenly felt grateful that he was so tall; the crowd had grown since he had arrived, but he could see just fine over the heads of the shorter people in front of him. He made his way toward the “stage,” a cleared area set up with two stools and some microphones up against the center wall of the restaurant. He wasn’t anywhere near the front of the crowd, but he could still see well.

A moment later, he saw Levi walk come into view from somewhere to the left of the stage. People began hollering in excitement, but Levi’s expression remained serious. He had an acoustic guitar slung over his back.

Eren was surprised to see the other waiter he had become familiar with enter behind him, carrying some bongos on a stand and a maraca in his mouth. It was the first time he had seen both of them together, and some odd part of Eren felt strangely jealous that he was clearly friends with him. It didn’t help that the other waiter probably only knew Eren as Levi’s crazy stalker, and not his newly minted boyfriend.

After a moment, he heard a tap on the microphone and glanced up, focusing once more on the stage.

There was Levi, adjusting the mic stand to be lower as he stooped on the stool. “Hey, everyone,” he greeted with a small grin. The crowd cheered in response. “Good to see you back. For those of you who are new here, I’m Levi, and this is Alex. I sing and pluck strings, and he hits stuff.”

The waiter, whose name was apparently Alex, tapped out a beat on the bongos to illustrate Levi’s point. The crowd laughed.

“We don’t have a name or anything, because we’re not an actual band. If you have any brilliant ideas for a band name,” Levi said, pausing to glance at the crowd, “you can shove them right back up your ass, because we don’t give a shit,” he finished.

The crowd broke into titters once more.

“Levi, stop with the shit jokes, you’ll scare away our fans,” Alex the Waiter said, grinning rakishly at a group of girls in the front. Eren watched as the girls blew Alex kisses in response.

“They’re not true fans unless they bask in the glory of my shit jokes,” Levi said seriously.

His fingers began to strum out an easy rhythm and the crowd quieted after another hearty laughing session. “Alright, folks,” he began in a gentler voice than before. “We’re going to start off nice and easy tonight. We have a great lineup for you; lots of freshmen dreams to crush. Alex and I are only playing one song tonight so you all get out with enough time to go to that frat party you read about on Facebook. So here’s a song I wrote a few days ago. I hope you enjoy it.” Levi’s eyes scanned the crowd and Eren felt a jolt when they met his.

Levi sent a crooked smile his way, and Eren felt his face flush.

Levi transitioned from what he’d been playing as he spoke to a new chord progression, which consisted of three alternating chords in a repeating pattern. Though it seemed uncomplicated, it was calming. The crowd began to sway along a bit with the easy tempo.

Alex the Waiter began to accompany him with a maraca as Levi began to sing. It was a simple melody but the lyrics were well thought out, clever—a bit philosophical, even. Eren suddenly wondered if Levi was taking the creative writing class because he wanted to develop his songwriting skills.

When they got to the chorus, Alex switched to the bongos set up in front of him.

A chill ran down Eren’s spine as he watched. Levi’s fingers danced across the fingerboard, and he had this slight furrow in his brow as he sang, a sign of his focus. It was a crooning, slightly hoarse sound, but there was something captivating about his voice. He would smile a little crookedly at the end of phrases, close his eyes during the recurring chorus. The small addition of vibrato at the end of drawn-out words sank deep down into Eren’s chest.

There’d been no time for beautiful things like music back then, had there? He couldn’t even remember if his mother had sung him lullabies.

Would Levi had been a musician then, too? Had he even liked music?

Why did Eren feel guilty all of a sudden?

The song picked up a bit toward the end, and the audience began clapping along. Levi grinned over the microphone, singing a bit louder so that the sound travelled over the noise produced by so many different hands. A few girls in the back began twirling a little, smiling.

The song finished many times stronger than when it began—in retrospect, the beginning was like a whisper that had grown into something else entirely.

Something that made Eren’s chest burn.

“Thanks, everyone. See you all next Saturday,” Levi said with a small grin, substituting a bow with a dip of his head as the audience clapped and hollered for more. Alex did the same, and the two got up and walked toward the back of the room to pack up their instruments while the next performer went on.

A few men and women patted Levi and Alex on their shoulders as they walked, and Levi said a few words with a grin, probably thanking them for their support.

Eren was lost in thought when he felt someone flick his forehead.

“Ow,” he said, blinking and bringing a hand up to his head.

“Look alive, soldier,” Levi joked, but Eren just scowled.

Levi slung the guitar over his shoulder and quirked his head to the side. “Do you ever not look pissed off or confused?”

“No, I just—I didn’t expect—”

“I’ve played for twelve years.” Levi stated quietly, ignoring Eren as he tried to string his words together in a coherent fashion and watching the next group as they began their set. “I’m not the best singer, but I like writing the lyrics and if you want to get something done the way you want, you do it yourself.”

“I liked it,” Eren said quickly. Levi raised his eyebrows slightly, and Eren made eye contact. “I really, really like your singing voice.”

Levi gave him an odd smile, like he couldn’t decide if Eren was being completely honest or lying to make him feel less insecure.

“You’re so weird,” Levi said, and pulled him down for a kiss by the neck of his crewneck sweater.

Eren’s mouth opened a little in surprise, and he felt Levi’s tongue swipe across the bottom of his mouth. Eren closed his eyes and brought his arms to rest on Levi’s hips.

In the background, some girl was singing a cover of that new Taylor Swift song; she was a little off-key.

Levi kissed the same way he did back then, Eren realized, something tugging at his heart.

After a few seconds, he felt Levi smirk against his lips, then pull away.

“Not bad,” he muttered appreciatively, and Eren forgot how to breathe.

\- - -

“Play something for me” was Eren’s new favorite sentence; it didn’t matter if they were sitting around Levi’s apartment (he’d been invited over to watch Netflix and make out more than a few times in the past few weeks), laying on the grass in the quad, or sitting around in the Waffle House after closing time on the days Levi locked up.

“Why are you so obsessed with my playing?” Levi asked one day, after indulging Eren in a soothing guitar melody that he had whipped up a few days before.

“You look really happy when you play.” Eren said softly, earnestly. “It’s so easy to forget—”

Levi watched as Eren’s eyes became glassy. Eren gave him a sad smile in return for his silence, shaking his head a little, as if to dispel an illusion of the past that had settled over them.

“Sorry. It’s just…”

Levi began strumming again softly, and Eren laid back, resting his head on Levi’s shins. He closed his eyes, the bright blue sky above him fading to black.

Levi began humming along.

\- - -

Eren had never been so happy in this life.

It was like meeting Levi again had simultaneously solidified his place in this world and the last. He no longer felt like he was straddling both, on the verge of tipping over, but standing firmly with one leg in each.

Sure, it was hard, but he had come to peace with it. It finally seemed like everything was going to be—dare he even think it— _okay._

He actually ended up enjoying his creative writing class more than he had anticipated. Though Levi said he was only taking it because he needed to take an elective before graduating and nothing else was open by the time he registered, Eren was seriously considering switching majors. He loved philosophy, but it was nothing like how accomplished and proud of himself he felt when Professor Clark or his classmates complimented his writing.

He even found himself offering to read his poetry and parts of his short stories in front of the class. He actually made a few friends in the process, and ended up starting an editing circle that met on Friday mornings. He and his new friends read each other’s works and suggested ideas for improving. Professor Clark commended him on his effort, and offered to be a faculty advisor should he decide to start a school literary journal or a writing club.

Saturdays were his favorite days of the week. He went to every one of Levi’s shows, and they always ended up hanging out afterwards. On a particularly wonderful Saturday, one of the last warm autumn nights, he found himself laying on the roof of the business building, clutching Levi’s hand in his own as they watched the stars.

They barely spoke, except for when Levi suggested in a soft voice that they head back to his apartment a little past midnight.

\- - -

Levi’s hand didn’t leave his for the entire quiet walk toward Levi’s apartment.

Eren stared at him very openly, but Levi didn’t seem to mind. It felt like a fog had settled over Eren’s brain. Everything was blurry, strange. His heartbeat was rapid, erratic. He didn’t know how much time passed as they walked back, the only pair on empty winding paths that led off the campus toward Levi’s apartment complex, but it felt like only seconds ago they had been on the roof.

Levi opened his apartment easily, finally breaking Eren’s hold. He said something, but Eren didn’t really hear it.

Levi walked toward the bathroom, and Eren found himself sitting on Levi’s bed.

He couldn’t tell if he was nervous or…something. It was strange. Everything was hazy, everything felt out of place. Had that poster been in this room before?

After a few minutes, Levi walked into the room, which was lit only by the light of the streetlamps shining outside the open window.

Levi stepped over to him silently, standing over him, stradding his legs as he sat.

Wordlessly, he brought his hands up to Eren’s face and bent down to kiss him. Eren didn’t move, even as Levi pushed his body down into the mattress and their kiss deepened. He finally found himself placing his hands on Levi’s hips.

Eren had no concept of time anymore, had no idea how long they stayed like that, Levi’s lithe body pressed down on top of his, the other man’s heartbeat pounding into his own chest.

It was different, different than the dreams.

Were the dreams this blurry?

He felt Levi lift his body back up, and Eren looked up, still in a state of dazed confusion.

And then Levi took his shirt off, and the haze in Eren’s mind cleared.

In his dreams, Levi’s chest was a canvas for his battle scars. Long, jagged lines down his skin at odd angles, overlapping and meeting in the middle. Eren used to trace them, to trail kisses along them as they held each other close—

This Levi’s chest was completely devoid of any imperfection, all smooth skin and soft muscle.

They were nothing alike.

The dreams weren’t this blurry.

This was just wrong.

“I can’t do this,” Eren whispered suddenly, horrified. He sprung up from Levi’s bed, fumbling for the pieces of clothing he had discarded in the last few minutes.

“What are you doing?” Levi asked, surprise and discontent lining his voice.

“I can’t do this with you,” Eren said, his mouth suddenly so dry, anxiety flooding his veins as he pulled his shirt back over his head. When had he even taken it off? He couldn’t remember.

He felt sick.

This wasn’t the Levi he knew. He was ashamed of himself for agreeing to date him in the first place. This Levi was like anyone else on the street, any other person who had ever doubted Eren’s memories. Levi would never have dated him if he hadn’t spouted all that nonsense when they first met.

Levi didn’t love him—that much was obvious from day one. What absolutely killed Eren, though, was the knowledge that he didn’t love this Levi.

The Levi he loved was gone; dead within the clutches of one of the last titans. He remembered the moment Mikasa told him. The way Levi had apparently cut him out of his titan, missing one arm and most of his left leg. How Eren had carried him to a safe clearing while what had remained of their team finished the job. How they found him clutching Eren’s hand. How they’d only ever seen him smile in death.

Eren had woken up unbroken. The knife Levi had held dear, the only memento he kept from his time in the underground, lay sheathed on his chest.

It was obvious he had wanted Eren to carry him with him, no matter what happened.

One year later, Eren died at the hands of the royal family clutching that knife, the last titan exterminated.

The only thing that had given him solace was the idea that maybe, one day, they would be together again. Though he had only dreamed it, he remembered that tightening of his chest at the thought of Levi, gone on without him. How he had wanted to die, too, when he saw Levi’s smile; the vague memory of Mikasa forcefully pulling him off of the body when they had gotten back to the compound, tears streaming down her face, still haunted him.

Was this really any better? Levi was still gone. To this Levi, he was a boyfriend who would probably be gone by next October.

There had been something desperate underlying the way that Levi and Eren had lain together before. They had touched each other like it would be the last time they would ever get the chance to.

If there had been no danger in that world, would he and the captain have really stuck together? Had it been a necessity of the situation? A desperate attempt to escape?

Had he created beauty out of his moments with the captain out of nothing more than an attempt to cope with the horrors of that world?

It was all wrong. So, so wrong.

“Eren, wait!” Levi said, raising his voice as Eren charged through the door of his bedroom. Eren bent down to grab his bag by the door, not even bothering to stop to do so.

Wordlessly, he opened the door and hurried out.

“Eren!”

Against his better judgment, Eren looked back as he left.

Levi hadn’t even bothered to put a shirt on, and his hair was still mussed up from the time they had spent on his bed.

His face was near unreadable, except for the brightness of his eyes. He didn’t look angry, but confused, and something else Eren couldn’t put his finger on.

It was hours later, a pillow over his head, that Eren realized what the second emotion he saw in Levi’s eyes was.

 _Betrayal_.

\- - -

They didn’t text the rest of the weekend. In fact, they didn’t see each other until their shared class the following week.

Levi silently walked up next to him as he exited the building. “We need to talk,” He said in a hushed voice, looking ahead as they walked, and Eren had just nodded.

Their hands didn’t touch once.

They ended up sitting on a bench under a tree toward the north side of campus. It was getting colder; both of them were wearing thick hooded sweatshirts, and Levi was even wearing a beanie. They sat in silence for a few moments before Levi began speaking. They still hadn’t really looked at each other.

“We’ll just end up hurting each other if we continue. You because I’m not the one you remember, and me because even if I want to be that person for you, I can’t be.” Levi’s voice was calm, his words even.

Eren felt himself begin to tear up, and he bent forward to put his face in his hands.

“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault,” he whispered.

He felt a hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair, but it just made him feel even more broken.

“Don’t worry about it, Eren.” Levi replied kindly.

“Thank you for putting up with me,” Eren answered between sobs.

“Hey,” Levi said, putting an arm around Eren’s shoulders and pulling his head to rest his shoulder. “Even if you were weird as fuck, I liked spending time with you.”

“I’m sorry,” Eren repeated, turning his head into the warmth of Levi’s shoulder. It was equal parts comforting and guilt-inducing, and he couldn’t find it in himself to break away from it.

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t ask for this, and it was me who pushed you into the whole dating thing.” Levi said with a humorless chuckle.

“I was persistent,” Eren said, his sobs slowing. He lifted his head up and sniffed loudly. “I’ve never known when to just shut up, it’s just like when I was in high school—”

“I said yes because I liked you, Eren. Don’t act like I didn’t have a choice in the matter,” Levi said, and Eren turned to look at him. He had a sad smile on his face, and Eren noticed for the first time that his eyes were red and a little puffy.

“I’m sorry,” Eren said again hoarsely, brokenly.

They stayed like that, miles apart despite how close to each other they were on that bench. A few moments after Eren’s sobs had subsided, Levi slung his bag over his shoulder and left. Eren sat there for some time, listening to the wind as it whistled through the trees and watching the leaves of the tree towering over him swirl to the ground, bright red against the green of the field.

\- - -

“I didn’t see your weird boyfriend last night,” Alex said nonchalantly the next week while they were getting ready to open up. Levi didn’t usually work Sundays (they were his homework day), but Alex had called him last night and asked if he could cover for his girlfriend, who had caught the flu.

“Eren and I broke up,” Levi answered simply as he wiped down the counter next to the register. Alex stopped mopping to look at him.

“What? Why?!”

“It’s complicated,” Levi sighed in response. He ran a hand through his hair and eyed the ground. Alex had definitely missed a spot (or several).

“Aw, man. I liked him,” Alex said wistfully, leaning on the mop.

“Me too,” Levi said softly. Alex reeled around to stare at him.

Levi was still staring at the floor, eyebrows scrunched together.

“I liked him, too.”

\- - -

“Eren, your short story is really something else. Honestly, it makes the rest of your works this semester seem lackluster, which is saying something since I rather enjoyed those. This one, though—the unreliable nature of the narrator coupled with his unwavering belief that he’s meant to be with this person he thinks he loved in a past life—it’s incredible. No, don’t be embarrassed,” his professor scolded him as Eren flushed. “My heart ached while I was reading this. That rarely happens while I’m reading student papers, to be honest—or if it does, it’s for an entirely different reason. Usually bad grammar.”

“Thanks,” Eren mumbled, scratching his head and refusing to meet her eyes.

Professor Clark grinned at the nervous boy in front of her. “You really are a mystery, Eren. You were so outspoken in class at the beginning of the year, but for the past month or so, you’ve been pretty quiet.”

“It’s not done yet,” Eren said slowly, glancing up at his teacher.

She waited patiently for him to continue.

“The story. I don’t know how it should end,” Eren admitted with a small sigh.

Professor Clark gave him a wide grin, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she did so. Her curly red hair shifted as she cocked her head to one side ever so slightly.

“Well, I always think that the best endings are beginnings in disguise.”

\- - -

He was starting to regret his decision the minute he made it to Levi’s apartment building, but he pushed down his doubts and the residual pain of their break-up a few months prior and forced himself inside.

As he was scanning the mailboxes and looking for Levi’s name (and simultaneously getting pissed off because this system definitely wasn’t organized by name or apartment number), he heard a confused voice call, “Eren?”

He whipped around to see Levi standing at the foot of the stairs to his right, all wrapped up in his winter coat. He was frowning as he stared straight at Eren.

“Oh, sorry, I, uh. I thought you’d have gone home for the holidays,” Eren laughed nervously.

“My mom and dad moved to Germany after I started university. I stay here over breaks since we pay by the month for the apartment and I don’t trust subletters,” Levi answered, still sounding confused.

“But your birthday is on Christmas,” Eren pointed out.

Levi sighed. “I’m not even going to bother asking how you know that.”

“Right,” Eren said, reaching up to scratch at his head with his free hand.

Levi just stared at him.

“Well, happy birthday,” Eren said with a fake grin that just looked terribly uncomfortable. He handed the package he was holding to Levi, face burning at the awkwardness of the situation.

Levi’s eyebrows remained furrowed together, though he did reach out to take the package from Eren. It was just a rectangular yellow envelope, and Levi looked a little surprised at its weight. “What’s this?”

“It’s…hard to explain. It’s actually my final project for creative writing. It was kind of…well, you’ll get it once you read it—hey, don’t open it now!” Eren cut himself off as Levi began tearing into it from the top.

Levi didn’t stop, nor did he look up at Eren.

Eren coughed a bit. “Right, well I’m going to—hey, let go!”

Levi had reached out to grab Eren’s arm rather firmly. This time, he was looking right into Eren’s eyes, grey piercing green.

“Why did you give this to me?” Levi demanded.

Eren sighed.

“You’re not going to let me leave, are you,” he said morosely.

“Not a chance,” Levi confirmed.

“Just read it, then,” Eren grumbled, resigned to his fate.

Levi paused, still looking into Eren’s eyes.

He only spoke when Eren looked away, a grimace on his face.

“Read it to me,” Levi ordered him in the same firm voice he had adopted as he questioned Eren about the nature of the gift.

“No way!” Eren yelped, horrified. He fought to break away from Levi’s grasp, but Levi just tightened his hold.

“Please,” Levi said softly, looking down at their feet. His grip remained tight.

Eren just looked at him, his desperate tone bouncing around his brain.

They ended up back upstairs in Levi’s bedroom five minutes later, seated on the floor next to one another, their backs against the side of Levi’s bed. Levi’s hands were folded together and he was staring at the beige walls of his bedroom; Eren was clutching the manuscript and trying to push the memory of the last time he was in Levi’s bedroom out of his mind.

He cleared his throat, breaking the silence of the room, and began.

“ _The you, two thousand years from now_ …”

\- - -

When Eren finished, he looked up at the clock to see that a little over two hours had passed. The last few words of the story hung around them.

His voice had wavered during the tougher parts of the story—the last time he saw his mother, the deaths of Levi’s squad members, Levi’s breakdown when Erwin died. He had needed several deep breaths as he read the ending.

When he spoke of the way Levi’s hand had gripped his, hard, when Eren had laid him down in the middle of that too-green field, he was shocked to feel Levi’s hand grab his and pull it toward him.

Eren had fought the onslaught of tears and continued, smiling through the pain as he read Levi’s last words, an apology and a promise to meet again in a beautiful new world.

And he choked up as he read over his own words, as he insisted that the world _had_ been beautiful, Levi had shown him that.

Eren let the manuscript fall into his lap again, and once his own voice stopped bouncing around his brain, those last few words making his head pound, he turned to look at Levi.

His eyes widened.

“Are you…crying?” Eren asked in shock.

Indeed, Levi was wiping his face furiously on the sleeve of his sweatshirt. He hadn’t made a sound since Eren started, which was why he was surprised. Levi was such a quiet crier that it was a little frightening.

“Of course I’m crying, you idiot,” Levi barked in between sobs. “That was fucking depressing as shit. What the actual _fuck_. How long have you remembered this shit again?”

“I remember it being really bad in third grade,” Eren said faintly, still watching Levi wipe at his face. He couldn’t believe Levi was comfortable wiping his snot all over his sweatshirt, but Levi still hadn’t let go of Eren’s hand and didn’t seem like he was going to do that anytime soon.

“Jesus _Christ_ ,” Levi responded in a choked-up voice, laughing a little bit as he continued to cry.

“Yeah, I didn’t have a lot of friends,” Eren said with a broken laugh.

They laughed together, too sad to do anything else.

After about ten minutes, they had both calmed down, though they were still breathing heavily.

Finally, Levi cleared his throat and spoke. “Are you mad at him? The Levi back then.”

“I don’t know. He saved Mikasa. I would have done the same thing. He made the decision he believed he’d regret the least. Mikasa told me I went on a rampage in my titan form after I saw it happen, after the titan got him—but he kept going, he cut me out, and…”

Eren finally broke down, sobs racking his body. “I still feel it, the guilt I felt back then for not seeing it sooner, for not saving _both of them_ —”

“ _Eren_ ,” Levi whispered in a pained voice, turning to look at him.

“If I’d paid more attention—”

“Even if you had saved him, the titans weren’t eradicated at that point. There’s no guarantee either of you would have ended up living much longer past that anyway. You said you died the next year anyway, when they finally were all killed.”

“I messed up, and I couldn’t even keep my promise,” Eren said, his breaths rapid, tears streaming down his face.

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” Levi whispered, and Eren felt the air rush out of him.

Levi’s hand was so warm in his.

“I miss you, Eren.” Levi admitted, looking over at him with a sad smile.

The room was so quiet.

“But it’s like you said. We’re just going to end up getting hurt,” Eren whispered after a few moments, looking back at Levi with tired eyes.

“Maybe,” Levi replied matter-of-factly with a small shrug. “Or maybe you’ll stick around for a while and get to know me, really get to know me. Maybe one day you’ll wake up and realize you’re in love with me. And yeah, it’ll probably be a different kind of love then the love you felt back then. But it might just be just as good.”

Eren stared at him for a while. Levi just turned away, that odd little smile still on his face.

“What I’m trying to say is that I think your ending needs work.”

Eren barked out a single, cathartic laugh. “Oh? What do you suggest?”

“I told you already, didn’t I? I’m a romantic at heart.”

And Eren decided that he probably was, too, because he rather liked the way Levi pulled him down to kiss him.

Really loved it, actually.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Some headcanons about the piece that didn't make it in:  
> \- The "business" Levi wants to start is a tea shop.  
> \- I was listening to "Riptide" by Vance Joy during the Open Mic scene, but that in no way needs to influence what you think he's singing.  
> \- Levi writes a bunch of songs about Eren and performs them at his shows while they're still dating. Eren is oblivious and can never tell they're about him.  
> \- Levi is taller because he isn't malnourished.
> 
> I left a lot of things really vague on purpose because I thought it was more fun that way. Like it is heavily implied in the story, the ending is also a beginning. Will Levi remember? Will they even stay together? Will they find anyone else from the past (I like to think this one is a firm no, but hey, you're entitled to your own ideas about how it'd go down!)?


End file.
